Friday, December 20, 2013

a quality that makes you continue trying to do or achieve
something that is difficult

the act of finding out or calculating something

the act of officially deciding something

Determination quite literally is the engine that drives us. It helps ensure success whereas lack thereof most often leads to failure.

“The difference between a successful person and
others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in
will.” ― Vince Lombardi

Then there's one of my favorite quotes -
“Success is a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don't quit when you're
tired. You quit when the gorilla is tired.” ― Robert Strauss The visuals on
that one are delightful to an old high-school and college wrestler. Especially
a heavyweight with 37" sleeves (aka long arms) like me.

Tom Petty gets it -

Then there's this anthem to determination:

Of course one's determination to complete a task only comes after one calculates the need to perform that task and makes the determination to begin the task. Life is so confusing sometimes.That's a quick shack attack on the subject. Check out what the other LBC folk have to say on determination.

Friday, December 13, 2013

When I was in college in 1971 and 1972 I stumbled into a course that introduced me to a fellow named David Mitrany and his work A Working Peace System. Essentially, the functionalist approach Mitrany espoused centered around the notion that peace is more than simply the absence of war. Nations could lessen antagonisms by cooperating on common issues such as economics and technology through small. lean international agencies.Once working relations were established between nations the benefit would be obvious, tensions lowered and this working peace system would evolve. It all made so much sense to me back then. Unfortunately, life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.

After 40 years of life - literally a lifetime of experiences - I am continuously amazed by the potential for humanity. I am not, however, prepared to be as optimistic about something as important as Global Peace. Simply put, there's not a chance in hell of it happening. Why?

1) Religion
2) Greed

Religion is great for some people - necessary even, But how many religions profess to be the one true religion?? How many claim it's their way or the highway - that highway usually leading straight to some version of hell. Muslim extremists hijack the faith and we deal with terrorism. So-called Christian extremists hijack the faith. Look at the history of Northern Ireland. Religion and politics simply do not mix. And any fundamentalist that claims to know the only true way to anything is simply not constructed to live in peace. Just 2 short, quick examples. There are many others.

Remember the Green Revolution? Currently 850 million or more people are starving worldwide - why? Since the Green Revolution enough food has been produced to feed those people but...for some reason we cannot seem to adequately or properly distribute something as necessary for survival as food. Too many people are lining their pockets along the way and the food simply doesn't get where it is needed. I am embarrassed that a country as wealthy as ours still has starving people. If we cannot distribute food here how can it be done internationally?

The capitalist says only the markets can produce a thriving economy. The progressive says the capitalist exploits the worker in the name of profit. The counter person at your neighborhood fast food emporium claims they cannot earn a living wage - we need to double the minimum wage. The owner says he/she'll have to close their doors. Truth is they'll just raise prices and that counter person has lost sight of the fact that the job was never meant to support a family.. Rational thought has left the building.

IMO religion and greed are at the heart of nearly every conflict in history. Nothing happening now makes me think anything is changing. Emerging nations want the same rights and privileges claimed by countries like the U.S.A, Canada, Germany - we have nuclear weapons, it is therefor every nation's right to have them. If the supposedly most rational, compassionate nation on the planet has used them what is to prevent the most irrational nations from using them?

The deck is stacked against global peace. With a bit of luck, all out global conflict won't happen but I suspect there is a generation or two faced with the prospect of terrorist attacks and small regional conflicts - the pressure reducers that will keep global conflict at bay.

That's what I think - in a randomly thought out scatter-brained approach. What do I want?

Friday, December 6, 2013

Like many things, definitions of beauty are firmly etched in water. In other words, our perception of beauty is fluid and subject to change but at its core each version contains what Wikipedia calls "a perceptual experience of pleasure or satisfaction".

There's physical beauty and philosophical beauty. There's the beauty of an action or the beauty of the written word.

Nelson Mandela, a hero to many

My friends Dave and Pat

My first car

Each of the above embody beauty in different ways - Mandela of the infectious smile and the ability to change his country depite incredible personal hardship and sacrifice. My friends - simply becvause they are my friends and have been almost forever - at least our personal slices of forever. And that MGA - come on - what a beauty. (Wish I still fit in it)

Then there's the beauty of an idea - like the U.S. Constitution or the Declaration of Independence Simple, logical documents expressing the idea that freedom matters. Ideas that set a standard or an expectation for us to strive to achieve.

There's the beauty of a song -

The beauty of a sunset

The beauty of books and the ideas and stories therein - there for anyone to discover

Indeed there is much beauty in the world. It's up to us to find it. The trick is to never stop looking for it.